South-east Queensland’s policy paralysis on replacing rail crossings has been shown up by a 2012 engineering report, which shows both major political parties have almost ignored its recommendations.
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In the nearly seven years since the Deloitte Access Economics report was compiled for Queensland's Department of Transport and Main Roads, only one of the six high-priority rail crossings it identified has been replaced.
This comes as a “statement of intent” could be signed in Brisbane on Friday between the three levels of government for a future south-east Queensland City Deal, which ties the different levels of government to funding promises over 15 or 20 years.
In 2012, Deloitte Access Economics recommended six open level crossings in Greater Brisbane to be replaced as a “high priority” for the Department of Transport and Main Roads:
- Beams Road, Aspley
- Boundary Road, Coopers Plains
- Telegraph Road, Bracken Ridge
- Cavendish Road, Coorparoo
- South Pine Road, Alderley
- Wacol Station Road, Wacol
In 2017, Queensland Transport data showed seven people died, 19 were seriously injured and 35 received minor injuries at 1360 open level rail crossing incidents between 2009 and 2016.
Just last month, a 70-year-old woman died on a rail pedestrian crossing at Lindum station.
That outcome has triggered a call from federal MP Graham Perrett for three levels of government to jointly fund the high priority projects.
“That's why I'm asking the local government — lord mayor Graham Quirk — the state government and the federal government, to fund a third (each),” Mr Perrett said.
“That's my suggested solution. What could be fairer in terms of getting things sorted? This is not arguing about the politics of it, just being fair.
“If there are more trains going down to the Gold Coast, the bottleneck at Coopers Plains, will be a lot worse.”
The SEQ City Deal is expected to recommend federal, state and local governments share funding to replace rail level crossings.
Seven years after 2012 Deloitte Access Economics report, only one of the high-priority crossings has been replaced (Bracken Ridge), along with one low-priority rail crossing at Geebung.
In 2018, the Queensland government committed $1.1 million to begin planning for rail crossings at Beams Road, Aspley, and Boundary Road at Coopers Plains, both of which were identified as being of high priority in the Deloitte report.
Aspley MP Bart Mellish said replacing the rail crossing was the number one infrastructure issue in his electorate.
Mr Mellish said he was aware of the 2012 Deloitte report, which recommended Beams Road be built before other rail crossings.
“I think it is very interesting that several overpasses with lower cost benefit ratios have gone ahead in 2012-13 rather than this project,” he said.
Mr Mellish said the issue that was continually raised with him by his Aspley electorate and was the top issue on his Facebook page.
“We received $400,000 to commence planning in the 2018-19 budget," he said.
“Whether it is an overpass or not, we will just have to wait and see what the feasibility study recommends.”
The Department of Transport and Main Roads did not answer questions about why it did not follow the 2012 rail crossing priorities set in the Deloitte report.
Cr Quirk said last week the reason Brisbane City Council offered 50 per cent to remove the rail level crossing projects in 2014 was because both rail crossings included council road projects.
The council and the then-LNP state government replaced the Telegraph Road, Bracken Ridge, rail crossing and the Robinson Road Road, Geebung, level crossing in 2014.
"Rail replacements have traditionally always been funded with a 15 per cent contribution from Brisbane City Council and there are no plans to increase this funding for state government infrastructure projects," Cr Quirk said.
"The only exceptions to this agreement were due to existing council road projects that linked in with existing crossing projects, such as the Telegraph Road corridor upgrade at Bald Hills (Bracken Ridge)."
